An Island I'll Never Leave
by Cheer-The-Underdog-On
Summary: A plane crashes, and the survivors are not sure they'll ever get back home. There, Roxas and Axel find love and build a life.


"Flight 183 is preparing for take off." Roxas wonders if her life is tough when she's not at work. He thinks it would be nice to be a sky hostess. For ten hours, depending on your flight, you escape your problems. Plus the free food, travel, lodging would be nice as well. She's somewhere in her thirties. She has that cute smile that he anticipates from all flight attendants. "Ladies and gentlemen," Oh, that's him, "Please buckle your seatbelts and prepare for take off. We should be arriving in Honolulu at 2:30 p.m."

The blond does as he told. He's already turned off his cellphone, and he's too broke to pay for stupidly expensive wifi, so his laptop is useless to him now. The redhead next to him is already asleep, snoring softly. Blue eyes gage him carefully. He seems harmless enough. For now.

When you're short, everyone is a threat. He has to worry about tall people leaning against him, drooling on him, armpits in his face, being made fun of. He is almost twenty-three, but he still gets treated like he was fourteen. To say he is bitter about the issue is an understatement. Watching the small TV screen in front of him, he studies the cartoonish clouds that represent a storm front over the Pacific coast and the sunshine over Baja California. A whimper from the man next to him makes the straw blond wonder how the stranger fell asleep so quickly on a plane. Usually for him, it takes an hour while being doped up on some cheap over the counter cold medicine. He can push through the six hours, though.

It's not like he could sleep with the turbulence the way it is anyway, he discovers, once they're in the air. Even though they're being reassured by the crew, it still bothers him. Roxas is an antsy flier, and he's aware of that. A particularly bad pocket of air awakes the taller man next to him who appears startled by his abrupt arousal. "Hello," Roxas greets him amiably, "Just the weather. Nothing to worry about."

"Oh thank God," The redhead clutches his heart while the blond notices how green his eyes are. He has really cute strawberry eyelashes, and it makes the short man blush a bit. "I thought the plane was going down."

"No, you would know if the plane was going down because I'd be screaming." Roxas laughed, "Everything is-"

He said he would scream, and he did.

~o~

Roxas had read an article once about how the first ninety seconds after a plane crash determines your survival. It was called the 'Golden Period' or something like that. In his first twenty seconds, he was grateful that he was poor and in economy because first class was gone when they hit the water like it was cement. In the next ten seconds, he wondered if his phone battery would survive as he unbuckled his seatbelt and used that dumbass flotation device they always rambled about at the beginning of the flight. Before those ninety seconds were up, he surfaced in the Pacific Ocean and looked around for anyone else who might be alive. Roxas bellowed his lungs out there in the middle of the ocean.

As did the redhead who had been sitting right next to him.

~o~

Vomiting up salt water was not exactly how Roxas thought he would be spending his Friday morning. In fact, normally on any given morning at 3 a.m., the blond would be safely tucked away between the sheets of his bed._ I need to just..._He didn't have the energy left to crawl further onto the beach._ I'll be fine if I just fall asleep here, right?_

~o~

"Hey…Hey…"The feeling of a hand on his shoulder, shaking him, roused Roxas from unconsciousness, "Holy fuck, thank goodness. You're alive."

Blinking sticky eyelids across dry eyes, he squinted. It was the redheaded stranger who had been sitting next to him, "Yeah," He croaked, "Anyone else?" His whole body was on delayed response. Everything was sluggish and fuzzy.

"Yeah, a few, but...It doesn't look good. I'm Axel by the way." He stood from his crouched position next to the blond, and Roxas blinked as sunlight abrasively hit his eyes.

Hissing a bit, he groaned, "I'm Roxas." Collecting himself, he stood to his feet. Giving the other a once over to see his condition, he noticed that Axel had made a sling out of his shirt and was cradling an arm, "What's wrong with it?"

Green eyes glanced down at his injury, almost as if he was ashamed of it, "I um...think it's broken."

"Okay, let me see it." Roxas had the other sit back down once they were off the sandy beach and under the shade of some trees, "Yeah, you're right." He looked at the other's forearm where it appeared his ulna was snapped, "I'm going to splint this for you. Once I do. Don't use this arm, don't do anything with it, keep it absolutely still. This isn't a modern cast. You can't use this arm." Getting up, he found a sturdy, thin branch and a stronger, shorter one and began to rip his shirt into long strips before tying them tight and wrapping the other's arm, "Don't pass out on me know." He patted his new found companion's face as he yelped in pain. "Stay with me. Almost done."

The redhead cried and screamed, but when all was done and his arm was back in the sling, he thanked the blond, "Where'd you learn to do that?"

"I'm going pre-med in college." Roxas explained, "So that kind of stuff is easy for me to do in theory."

"Oh cool…Well come on! I'll take you back to the others!"

In the end, there are thirteen of them. Four women and the rest of them are men. One of the girls is fourteen, so Roxas quickly befriends her. He doesn't want her taken advantage of, and the blonde woman in his age group is married to a flamboyant fashion designer, so she's not of his concern. The rest are single, but in their thirties. Already, it is clear that the group is dividing off into factions. The blond offers his medical skills and then they scavenge for supplies.

"I don't think we need to look for stuff, after all, a rescue should be by anytime now!" One man grunts.

Another woman nods,"Has anyone contacted the local authorities?"

Axel gives the blond a look, and they both know that they're thinking the same: that wasn't just something that had happened to them. There wasn't engine failure or a collision. The weather hadn't been that bad. Lightning no longer affected planes. If it had been anything, it had been an electrical failure. "It was China." The redhead tells him, "Like they said on the news, things had been rough."

"You really think they'd use an EMP against us?" Xion is laying beside him, breathing softly, and Roxas wonders if she's cold. Probably is, since she's shivering a bit.

"Why not? Our cars have computers in them, most of our machines have computers in them, our whole lives are based on little machines. Have you tried turning on your cellphone?" Axel asks softly.

Roxas sighed, "No, it's damaged from the water, Axel. It wouldn't work anyways."

"If you really think so, here, look at mine." The redhead reaches into his pocket with his good arm and pulls out the device. It's not a smartphone, and that's probably why it survived. "Look." He turns it on, the screen glowing softly before staying that way. No color. Just a dull glowing screen.

The shorter man doesn't tell his new friend that he's right. He doesn't say anything. He simply reaches forward and hold Axel's hand._ I'm scared._

_...I am too._

~o~

Axel thought himself a bisexual man. Not that he had told any of his previous girlfriends that. He just thought that men could have something alluring about them too. Roxas was exclusively straight. He was. He promised. He just happened to be touchy feely and hadn't ever found the right girl. Maybe he'd had a couple of guy crushes, but those weren't anything big. He was straight. He promised. "Roxas, I'm hungry." Xion informed him the next morning, "And I need to pee."

As her new big brother, he tried to decide what to do, "Okay, well, we're going into the forest today anyways." He promised, "So go find a place where no one can see you, and do your business. Not too far away, though. I don't want you getting grabbed."

She nodded and toddled off, leaving the blond to look at Axel who was still snoring softly, "You could sleep through a plane crash." The blond teased, shaking his good shoulder a bit, "Rise and shine, Sleeping Beauty."

Once Axel was up, they did as Roxas had promised and moved into the jungle, "Do you guys know anything that we can eat down here?" He had no experience with tropical plants. He didn't even like mangos, pineapples, or fruit in general.

Xion nodded, "Um, I'm a native, so I know a couple of things we can eat, but if this is really Hawaii, we'll come across a road or people soon."

"We also can't take that chance." Axel reminded her, "We need to ensure our survival until we confirm that things are different."

Nodding, she became their guide, pointing out what fruits they could eat, "Just because we can eat them doesn't mean they taste good. My mom calls them bird food."

Right. Well then, "We need to find some fresh water too."

Although it took a bit of time, they did eventually find a cool creek. Settling down with their extremely bitter fruit and their water, the three did feel a bit replenished. They walked for the rest of the afternoon until they emerged back at the beach, "You've got to be kidding me." Xion whispered, "What now?"

"Walk around?" Axel asked, "To find if we're really on an island."

Roxas bit his lip, "Let's collect some things of the shore from where we crashed. We're going to need backs and any supplies we can find in suitcases. Sound like a plan?"

"Yeah…"

By sundown, they were back where they started plus a couple changes of clothes, backpacks, water bottles, and a few small items like toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, soap, and the like.

Setting down some blankets, so they didn't have to sleep on the sand, Roxas and Axel told Xion goodnight and tucked in.

Their life differed from this very few times in the following months.

~o~

The trio's group was notoriously known as the two gay guys and their tag-a-long. Not that any of them minded this because out of thirteen, three was a safe number to have. There was some truth to it too. Xion wasn't unaware that over the past few months her friends had been getting closer. To the point that she was pretty sure that Axel was going to break if Roxas didn't do something. "Hey Roxas?" She finally asked one day while they were down by the river, "Are you and Axel boyfriends?"

The heat that spread through his cheeks was answer enough for her, "N-No. We're just...I mean…" He sighed, "I'm straight. I can't be with Axel."

"You could be bisexual. Axel's bisexual." She chirped, "He likes you. I think he wants to be with you."

Roxas frowned, "But...Aren't you only fifteen now? You need to chill out with the love talk."

"I could if Axel would stop whining about you all the time." Xion sighed, "He wishes you would get over being straight already. You would make good boyfriends."

"I guess."

"Nah, no guessing about it. You would." She smiled, "You would both be happier."

"What if something goes wrong and we break up?"

The teen rolled her eyes, "What would go wrong?"

Roxas tried to come up with something, "We could have different plans for our futures."

"Oh, come on. We're on an abandoned island, and all you can come up with is we have different plans for our futures? Laaame." She chided.

"Okay! So what do you want me to do? Just go up to him and be like, 'Hey baby, I know I've been takin' my time, but now is the hour for romancin'?" He rolled his eyes.

"Yes."

"No! Nooo nonono nooo! No way!" He squealed, "Not going to happen!"

Xion groaned, "Well at least say something."

Roxas pursed his lips, "Well...Okay. I guess."

When they got back to camp, the blond took the other aside and tried to round up some words, "I um...Axel, um… Would you-?"

"Yes." The redhead said simply, grinning. Then, before anything could be done, he leaned down and gave the blond a kiss. "Took you long enough."

Roxas blushed, "That's because I'm straight."

"Straight boys don't fall in love with gay boys." Axel purred, "They also don't get wet dreams about them."

Punching him on the good shoulder, the blond rolled his eyes, "Whatever. I do not."

The redhead kissed him again, "Yeah, you do. Change of subject: do you think I can take this splint off yet?"

"Hmmm? Let's see…Probably." He began to undo the bandages a bit flustered from how casual this all was, "Does your arm hurt at all?"

"Not really." Axel moved his hand, "This arm looks pathetic now."

"Atrophy. It happens to all wounded limbs." When the redhead's arm was finally free, Roxas felt proud. "I'm glad it healed well."

"Me too…Um," The taller man gave him a small smile, "Do you think we should start building a raft? We haven't seen any people since we've been out here, and if we get enough supplies, we could make it."

Roxas nodded, "I'll think about it. I'll ask Xion too. That'd be a big project."

They never go through with it.

Instead, they build a nice hut with a fireplace and some beds. Xion finally decides that she likes one of the teenage boys that survived and settles down with him. By the time Axel and Roxas are old, there are almost thirty of them. They never find out if it was China. They never find out why the plane truly crashed. They do find out that they love each other very much. A soft love where there aren't any sharp words. They may have disagreed on politics or what ever else may have clashed between them in their old life, but those things have no importance here. They find similarities in the positive.

A lot changes, but they all think that's for the better. They don't have money. They trade with their neighbors when they need to, and any disputes are settled diplomatically by the whole group.

Sometimes Roxas misses things. Air conditioning, sun screen, his mom, dad, friends, or his old life, but everyone does at one point. He finds new things where he is. He invests in people.

He invests in Axel.

And at the end of the day, he no longer feels like a survivor. He is a phoenix, making a new life out of the ashes of the old.

He finally accepts himself. Two months after he decides to be Axel's boyfriend. Eleven months after the plane crash. "I love you, Axel."

The redhead, once again, is sound asleep, but that doesn't matter. Roxas knows that Axel will be just as excited to hear those words for a second time when he tells him tomorrow.

* * *

**Idk why I wrote this. It's really bad. I just wanted the idea out of my head. Review.**


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